A lot of people are afraid that the Chicago Bears will go through the 2020 offseason without making a significant change at quarterback. GM Ryan Pace will stick to his guns on Mitch Trubisky and double down on him finally emerging in his fourth year with the team. Pace hasn’t shown any signs that he’s ready to make some changes. Has enough happened down the stretch to make one thing his mindset has altered? Not really, if we’re being honest.
However, there is a counterargument to all this. One that helps to warn people away from the idea of the Bears being aggressive in their search for competition, or even an outright replacement for their embattled quarterback. That is the fact that Pace, for all his positives, has proven consistently bad when it comes to evaluating that position.
People look at Trubisky as the shining example of this, trading up to get him with Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes sitting on the board. Yet the evidence doesn’t stop there. Just look at the full slate of signal-callers he’s added dating back to 2015 when he took over. It’s not a pretty sight.
Draft:
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- Mitch Trubisky
Undrafted:
- Shane Carden
- Dalyn Williams
Free agency:
- Brian Hoyer
- Mike Glennon
- Mark Sanchez
- Connor Shaw
- Matt Barkley
- Chase Daniel
- Tyler Bray
Chicago Bears have no reason to trust Pace at this point
Pace has done some great work in the past five offseasons. He built a top 5 defense, assembled a talented cast of weapons on offense, and put a coaching staff in place that shows clear motivational and developmental skills. All big positive. Unfortunately, none of that matters if he can hit on the most important position in the sport. Not only has he failed to hit, he hasn’t really gotten close. Trubisky has had bright spots but his inconsistencies won’t go away.
So let’s go back to the idea that the Bears might either spend a considerable amount of money or a possible 2nd round draft pick on the position this coming spring. Are people really comfortable with Pace being the guy to make that decision at this point? Given his track record, the odds heavily favor him saddling the team with another expensive flop. Maybe the better decision in 2020 is to devote those resources to improving the roster and letting the Trubisky narrative play out. If he turns the corner? Great.
If he doesn’t, the Bears get a clean break in 2021 where they can find a new quarterback with likely a new GM in charge. Hopefully with a strong roster in place to slide him in without too many bumps.
Some will argue that the presence of Matt Nagy will help Pace though. This would be true, but one mustn’t forget that the GM isn’t exactly known for factoring the head coach into his decisions at that position. If he had, Watson might be the Bears’ quarterback right now if John Fox had his way. This is why it’s impossible to trust Pace anymore.
